A former Bartholomew County Jail officer was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months of probation for filing a false report that connected a bag of drugs found at the jail to the wrong inmate.
Jacob A. Hopkins, 30, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to official misconduct, a Class D felony, but Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge Chris Monroe reduced the felony conviction to a Class A misdemeanor.
Hopkins and former Columbus Police Department Patrolman Matthew Stephenson prepared false reports in February last year that said the drugs were found on the coat of a female inmate to whom they did not belong.
Hopkins testified Tuesday about the incident that led to his firing from Bartholomew County Jail and the criminal charges.
He said he found the drugs on the floor of the jail and asked another jail officer where they came from and to whom they belonged.
The jail officer said the drugs looked like cocaine and likely belonged to the female inmate because she was the only he had booked into the jail that afternoon and she was accused of dealing cocaine.
Hopkins said he called Columbus Police Department and asked for an officer to pick up the drugs as evidence.
Stephenson picked up the drugs and asked Hopkins where they were found, according to Hopkins testimony.
Hopkins told Stephenson they were on the floor next to the female inmate’s coat and asked him if he wanted to place an additional charge of possession of cocaine on the female inmate.
Stephenson told Hopkins that since the drugs were not found on her coat, “the charges would not stick,” according to Hopkins testimony.
Hopkins said Stephenson told him to prepare a report and write that the drugs were found on the woman’s coat.
He wrote the report but testified that he went home that night and knew he needed to correct it because he didn’t want to lie.
He fixed the report the next day to correct where the drugs were found.
However, Stephenson wrote a report for CPD that said the drugs were found on the female inmate. The jail report and the police reports did not match, Hopkins said.
Jail and CPD officials conducted an investigation into the reports and discovered the false information.
They also found that the drugs actually were methamphetamine and belonged to another inmate.
Hopkins said “the whole thing was a complete lapse in judgment” and apologized to his family, the female inmate, CPD and the jail.
Special prosecutor David Powell and the judge said they believed Hopkins played a lesser role in the incident than Stephenson.
Monroe said he thinks if Stephenson had not suggested falsifying the reports that Hopkins would not have done it.
The judge also said he thinks Hopkins’ arrest in the case was enough to eliminate the possibility that he would commit another crime.
He also noted that Hopkins’ record was “exemplary,” including his service in the military for which he earned a Purple Heart.
Monroe sentenced Hopkins to a 12-month jail sentence and suspended it, placing Hopkins on probation for one year.
The special prosecutor dropped the other charges against Hopkins in exchange for his plea.
Stephenson received the same sentence from Monroe Jan. 12 for the same conviction of official misconduct. The judgment against him also was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor.